Artificial bait



July 29, 1952 HENRY 2,604,717

' ARTIFICIAL BAIT Filed June 16, 1948 I INVENTOR. +3 EMERSON F. HENRY ZQ/W/M A T TOANE Y Patented July 29, 1952 UNITED *YYQ alvrlrrommain'r EmersonvFallenryr Warren',"0hio Applicationdune'm, 1948; seriaim: 33331 .-1 Glaim. (0143 442:211) v -My invention-relates to artificial bait; andfithe zprincip'al :obj'ect of my 1 invention is 'to' provide new land improved' bait of: this character.

TlIhe prior :art is replete with artificial bait vof :various :types, :ea-ch claimed :as h'aving some :attribute that wili lure Ifish. "In some eases, certain .claims were well founded. in itheory, :but' the bait was impractical in operation.

,The .bait iofimyinVention may betermed 'as .the

.ffioaterxtypef! and :is especially, althoughtnot' restrictively:designedciorzfishing. in: shallow-water, especially :in rainwater :where :there :are :weeds, stumps, :lotgs, and.;like habitat f? :fish.

The bodyzofithebaitzof: myinvention isapreferably shaped ;to .tresemble'smaturalr:loait: of: great liking",toxifi'sh; r.;as; .fnr instance: the;;=chub or. :rcreek shiner. :Inthe drawing?illustratingztheeinvention, :the body-is lpreferabiy'mal shapediint cross-sec- .z'tion, 1 and :is,formed--withiwhat'unightzb'e.termed a diving plane device at its mouth portion.

v'The'constructionpffmy bait is such that a lifelike action is produced in the water, thus producing the maximum in killing power. For example, ibecausesof my particular construction, the bait may be caused to dive, not too. sharply,:to a depth dependant ,uponthemspeed .at iwhichithe bait is retrievedby'thefisherman.

Unlike the diving plane rdevice showndn' the .Pflueger-Ratent. 1,615,803,. the: diving plane 'de'vice iofzmyjinventionhas arelatively large flat surface izpresentedinormalto the ..line 1of retrievepso as to s'et i p ripplesemanatingiromihe bait, and such ripplesicause thesubstantiallyroval shape-bodyto "roll, causing. anflashing 'ofeyes on either-side of fthe body, tvhichraction.v .is -greatly attractive to fish. :Alsogthedivingplaneof the particularcon- :"struction shown, -combination with the particular constructionof the'ibofiyioiithe bait-causes "lihei bait' -to iollowanundulating ..path during retrieve, and such action greatly attracts the attention of fish to the bait.

In the drawing accompanying this specification, and forming a part of this application, there is shown, for purposes of illustration, an embodiment which my invention may assume, and in this drawing:

Figure 1 is a side view of the preferred form of my invention,

Figure 2 is a front view of such preferred form,

Figure 3 is a plan view of such form,

Figure 4 is plan view of a development of the diving plane device.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the diving plane device in the shape assumed when ready for assembly with the body of the bait,

' "Fi'gu-re 6 is -aschematic iront view iilustrating \the rolling actionproducdiand fFigure "7 "is' a schematic plan Niew illustrating "the undulating-action produced.

Referring to Ithe drawing, the :"embodiment "herein shown to disclose the inventiomcomprises a body H1; preferably*shaped toisimulate'la chub or creek shiner. As best seen in Figures 1 through 3, 'the' ioody' his-generally oval in cross-section. and or I elongated shape; beingigenerallyfhalf round -at the head :portion L and taperingbzto -Extending irom:the tai-lzportion L2, andiifrom the' body' 1 ll g-as screw-eyes spam gang honks'ilfl depend f-rom'irespectiveeyes I 3. insiherezashown,

the hook [4 adjacent to the head portionelilfzhia'is two hooks while the remainder are ofzthezthree hook: type, -although such 'arrangementtmay; he varied aswill beappreciated.

' -The lower part; reierrin'g to dispositiomof parts min 'Figures l and- '2nofthe.head ip'Or tiOnl H forme'dawith agenerally L shapedinotcm t5 ,1 provi'ding: a; horizontaLsuriacerliisposed substantially at the longitudinal -axis of the body 51 0, :and'za :25 vertical surface-gen ra y a t an s zto t horizontal-surface.

2, A 'diving-plane device lfi isrsecured in the notch 4 5'; and comprises 'ireierring toi'Figure 31 )saitge'n- ':erally' horizontaltleg 'I'La'nd2-a generaIIy ertical leg l8 which terminates generally at the adjacez'it llower :surfa'cee'o'f the body t I wand is -extended :doWnwardly in as: diving' plane il-fl wvhich --extends forwardly atflapproximately aithirty degree angle -with the leg-I8. V I if Preferablygthefdiving plane dev-ice I G isf-formed of a bendable materiahand in oneupiece. l'lnfithe *present e'mbodiment thedevice l'fi is formed of high light-reflecting :tnaterialp'such as' poiished chrome-plated metal. a I

"Referring' td Figure 4, Ethe diving plane'fievice is formed from a fiat blank which is suitably contoured to assume the shape of the corresponding parts of the body ill. The legs l1, l8, and I9 are formed by proper bending along lines 20, 2|. Extending forwardly from the leg I1 is a neck portion 22 terminating in an eyelet portion 23 providing an aperture 24.

To properly form the neck portion, the legs l1, l8, and 19 are bent to their relative positions, and the neck portion is doubled upon itself so that the aperture 24 of the eyelet portion 23 registers with an aperture 25 formed in the leg 11, these two apertures passing a screw 26 which fastens the leg I1 and eyelet portion 23 to the horizontal surface of the notch l5. The leg I8 is also formed with an aperture 21, to pass a, screw 28 for the purpose of fastening the leg l8 to the vertical surface of the notch I5. The doubled part of the neck portion 22 forms a loop 29 which is adapted to receive the leader or fish line 30.

The body In is provided with eyes 3| on either side thereof and above the longitudinal axis, and such eyes may be formed of glass or plastic set into the body, or they may merely be painted on the body, using color to give life-like appearance. As here shown, the eyes 3| are preferably positioned above the front hook l4.

Angular lines 32 may be painted on the body I 0, and these lines may constitute a meeting place for different shades of paint in the two sections of the body defined by the lines. Thus, one section may be painted a light color to attract fish during a dull day, and the other section may be painted a dark color, to attract fish during a bright day. 1

At the rear section of the body, that is, the section extending inwardly from the tail portion [2, markings simulating fish scales may be painted thereon. One manner of providing such fishscale appearance is to blow or spray a metal dust, preferably of gold-like color, onto the rear section while the paint on the body is still wet or tacky.

The body ll may be formed of any suitable material which will float on water. Wood is a suitable material, although it will be appreciated that a plastic may also be used. Attention is called to the fact that the legs l8 and IQ of the diving plane device l6 are generally as wide as the. widest part of the body ID, as best seen in Figure 2.

The leg 18 is of substantial length, to present a relatively large flat surface normal to the line of retrieve. Such surface causes considerable rippling action of the water as the bait is retrieved, and such rippling action causes the body not only to turn or roll about its longitudinal axis, as suggested in Figure 6, but also causes the body In to follow an undulating path as suggested in Figure 7. Turning of the body II! on its longitudinal axis gives the eyes 3| a flashing appearance to the fish, since from a predetermined viewing point, the eyes will appear, vanish, and reappear, and this action greatly attracts the fish to strike.

The leg l9,.forming the diving plane proper,

being at relatively small angular relation with the leg l8, assists in forming water ripples. Further, if the bait is retrieved witha predetermined amount of speed, the leg I9 will cause the bait to descend in the water.

In view of the foregoing, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that I have accomplished at least the principal object of my invention, and it also will be apparent to, those skilled in the art that the embodiment herein described may be variously changed and modified, without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specifically described, hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodiment is illustrative only, and that my in vention is not limited thereto.

I claim:

An artificial bait, comprising: a body generally oval in cross-section and shaped to natural bait configuration, said body having an L-shaped notch entering from the head portion thereof and comprising a longitudinal surface extending inwardly of said head portion, said longitudinal surface being disposed along the transverse axis of said body and being parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof, and a transverse surface at right angles to said longitudinal surface, said transverse surface extending from the inner terminus of said longitudinal surface to the outer transverse peripheral surface of said body; a diving plane device secured within said notch, formed of a flat blank and providing a first leg adapted to lie along said longitudinal surface in manner so that the longitudinal axis of said body lies in the exposed surface of said first leg, a second leg adapted to lie along said transverse surface and extending the full length thereof, and a diving plane surface extending downwardly and forwardly from the outer terminus of said second leg, said blank also having a neck portion terminating in an eyelet, said neck portion being doubled back upon itself to form a loop for receiving a leader or line and in manner so that said loop is aligned with the longitudinal axis of said body and said eyelet is disposed beneath said first leg to provide means for securing said diving plane device within the aforesaid notch.

EMERSON F. HENRY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS 

